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Collectable Lego figures.

If any of you have read my previous review of Lego minifigures series 6 then you'll know that even though I really am far too old for these little toys, I love them anyway and am a bit of an obsessive collector.

Series 7 has just been newly released (on April the 1st) but only a few stores actually have them in stock as of yet. I've been buying mine from WH Smith but Tesco still only has Series 6 on the shelves in my local store with series 7 not yet making an appearance.

Every series has a different coloured bag to make it easily identifiable. Series 7 is in a bright red foil bag with the series number displayed clearly on the right hand upper corner. The product is clearly marked as being suitable for ages 5+ and this is no doubt due to the small parts. I'm sure younger children would be able to make and play with them but some of the parts would present a choking hazard. I'm sure any child aged 5 and above would be able to build these toys easily without help.

The packs are sealed so the minifigure inside is a secret which can lead to huge expense if you want to collect the whole set as you can only tell what is inside by feeling the packaging and trying to work it out. There are 16 characters to collect in total and at almost £2 a pack (WH Smith sells these for £1.99 a pack, Tesco for £1.97), this can be an expensive hobby.

These are quite collectable and some are deliberately made to be rare with only a few available per box so it can be a bit of an investment. The Spartan from series 2 is already selling on Ebay for about £10 so some of these figures in years to come could be worth a lot more than the £2 they were bought for.

I've already managed to collect most of these figures (only three left to go) so I'll give you a break down of what is in this series and how to find each figure:

1. Aztec Warrior: Warrior minifigs have always proven to be very popular and this guy will be no exception. He is seriously cool with a huge crested helmet, spear and round shield. His spear is easy to feel for as it is very long with a soft, rubber tip. As he is the only character with a spear, once you've felt it, you know you've got him.2. Bagpiper: Another really cool figure but one of the more fiddly to build for kids due to his fabric kilt that needs to be wrapped round him. He is quite tricky to feel for but feeling for the bulky bagpipes and his hat should help.3. The Bride: A nice, feminine figure that will surely be popular with little girls. It even comes with a fabric veil. Feel for the bulky triangular shape that is her dress and then feel for some small, flat flowers.4. Bunny Suit guy: A Lego man in a bunny suit. What more can you want? Feel for the bunny ears and the carrot accessory.5. Daredevil: Another great character. He has a helmet which should be easy to feel for and is another figure that comes with a cape. His face has two expressions to pick from: smiling and fear.6. An Evil Knight: Clad in black and carrying a sword and shield. Again, he has a helmet but his sword and shield should be easy to feel for. The shield has a rounded top and a pointed base.7. Computer Programmer: Carrying a mug and briefcase. Another tricky one to feel for but focus on the accessories.8. Hippie: His long hair and flowers are easy to feel.9. Ocean King: Another great figure. His trident is easy to feel and he has an unusual tail instead of legs.10. Grandma Visitor: a Little Red Riding Hood figure which is smaller than the rest and carries a rubbery basket. You should be able to feel the basket and if you give it a squeeze, its rubberyness will give it away.11. Rocker Girl: a pink-haired punk complete with guitar. Feel for the guitar.12. Galaxy Patrol: a character that looks like it was inspired by Halo. It is very chunky and therefore easy to feel. A nice touch is that it has two sides to its face.13. Swimming Champion: An Olympics inspired figure of a girl in a swim cap wearing her medal proudly. Feel for the medal even though it is small and tricky to feel for.14. Jungle Boy: A jungle native carrying dagger and monkey. Feel for the unusual shape of the monkey.15. Tennis Ace: a male tennis player, complete with racquet. Feel for the racquet.16. Viking Woman: one of only two characters in a dress, so feel for the triangular block that is her dress, then feel for her shield and sword.

The rarest characters in this series are the Aztec Warrior, The Ocean King, Grandma Visitor, the Swimmer, the Punk Rocker, Bunny Suit Guy and the Bride. The most common figures in this series are Evil Knight, Galaxy Patrol and Jungle Boy.

All in all, these are very cool and collectable with the likelihood to rise in value or at least hold their price.

For more info, look on the official website at :http://minifigures.lego.com/en-gb/Bios/Default.aspx